The Defenders: A Forever Red Sequel
by Ryuranger
Summary: When faced with threats greater than a typical Ranger team can handle, Tommy Oliver calls on the Defenders: 10 Red Rangers from different teams. from Mighty Mophin' to Wild Force. For their next mission, the Defenders need a new recruit, the newest Red Ranger, Shane Clarke of the Power Rangers Ninja Storm.
1. Mission to Mirinoi: Part One

_**Author's note:**_ _I wrote this story in 2003 as a sequel to Forever Red._ _It takes place during Power Rangers Ninja Storm._

* * *

Shane Clarke tore through the city streets on his skateboard, showing little disregard for pedestrians that happened to cross his path. He was supposed to meet his friends at Storm Charges before heading to Ninja Ops, and he didn't want to be late. He learned long ago that keeping his sensei waiting was a bad plan.

He approached a stairwell and hopped onto the handrail, keeping his balance as he slid downward. Before he reached the bottom of the stairwell, a foot reached out and swept his feet out from under him.

Shane wiped out as his tailbone smacked onto the pavement.

"Whoops," the man who tripped Shane said as a cocky grin spread across his face.

Shane winced with pain as he slowly stood, clutching onto his injured back. "Oh man, what'd you do that for?"

The man shrugged. He looked to be in his mid 20's and wore a dark jumpsuit that looked almost military in nature. His hat bore a triangular symbol with the letters 's' and 'g' next to each other. He wore a red and black device on his left wrist that looked similar to Shane's morpher.

"Nice outfit," Shane said.

"Thanks, Hoody," Eric said mockingly as he reached out and flipped the hood on Shane's sweatshirt. Shane acted on instinct, grabbing the man's wrist and flipping Eric over his shoulder.

Eric landed on his feet and managed to twist out of Shane's grasp just before sidekicking the teen in the chest.

Shane stumbled back as Eric casually wiped his hands over his jumpsuit. "Not bad."

Shane snapped to a fighting stance. "It gets better."

The teen launched at Eric with a flurry of kicks and punches. Eric blocked each of the blows as he studied the boy's movements, looking for weaknesses in Shane's defense. It only took a few seconds for Eric to spot an opening.

The Silver Guardian outer blocked a kick from Shane while stepping towards the teen's body and sweeping the legs out from under him. Shane's tailbone slammed to the ground yet again.

"I think the pavement likes you," Eric said.

"Hey!" a voice called from the distance. Shane flipped up from the ground and looked to see where the voice had come from. It was a man dressed similar to Eric, only he wore a red cap.

"Two of you, huh?" Shane said as he snapped into a fighting stance. "Double the fun."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Wes said as he walked up to Shane while holding his hands up in a non-defensive manner. "No one wants a fight."

"Tell that to Mr. Personality," Shane said as he looked to Eric.

Wes sighed. "Eric can get a little carried away at times. I'm Wes."

Wes extended his hand. Shane hesitated a moment before dropping his guard. "Okay, fine. What do you people want?"

"You, Hoody" Eric said as he stood with his arms crossed.

"We know you're the Red Wind Ranger," Wes said before Shane could make a counter-remark to Eric. He pointed to a silver device worn on his left wrist. "We're Rangers too. I'm Time Force Red, he's the Quantum Ranger."

Shane's eyes widened as he smiled. "Oh, man, no way! Wait till Dustin hears this."

"He won't," Eric said.

Shane wrinkled his brow at the Guardian. "And why not?"

Wes interrupted the smart remark he knew Eric was going to make. "We need you to come with us. We'll explain everything to you once we get to our base."

Shane wasn't sure why, but he knew he could trust Wes. He could see it in the older man's eyes. He stepped into the jeep with the two Silver Guardians, knowing his life as a Ranger was about to turn even more complicated.

* * *

The Guardian's jeep pulled to a grassy clearing in the middle of a park as Wes and Eric hopped out of their vehicle.

"We're here," Wes said.

Shane stepped out of the jeep and looked around with a confused expression on his face.

"This is just an empty field."

"Smart kid," Eric said.

Wes held his Chrono Morpher up to his mouth. "Decloak."

Light shimmered in the middle of a clearing as a huge ship appeared out of thin air. It had a saucer shape to it and its hull was painted deep blue.

"Whoa," Shane said simply as a ramp extended down from the ship. A man in a gray uniform with a red undershirt walked partway down the ramp. He had his brown and blonde striped hair pulled back in a pony tail.

"Hurry," Andros said. "We're running out of time."

* * *

Wes and Eric led Shane into a dimly lit room that had flashing control panels lining the walls. In the center of the room was a small circular table with a holo-projector extending from the middle.

Behind the table stood a man that appeared to be in his late 20's or early 30's. He had short spiked hair as dark as night, and deep brown eyes. Shane immediately noticed that the man's dress was far less formal than the other three strangers he'd met. This man wore tan pants and a black t-shirt with a plaid unbuttoned red shirt covering it.

"Shane," Wes said as he moved to stand on the right side of the table so he was in between the man and Shane. "I'd like you to meet Tommy Oliver. Red Zeo Ranger."

Tommy extended his hand and Shane shook it. "I'm glad you could make it, Shane. I'm sure you're wondering why you've been brought here."

"I'm a little curious, yeah," the teen said.

Tommy allowed a brief smile to spread across his face. Shane reminded him of his youth spent as a Ranger.

"Not too long ago," Tommy said as he took a seat, indicating for Shane to take a seat. "I uncovered a plot of the Machine Empire's to awaken a zord on the moon named Serpentara."

Shane had no clue as to who the Machine Empire was or what Serpentara was, but he allowed Tommy to continue.

"My Zeo Ranger team had split up years ago, as did most of the other Ranger teams I knew at the time, so I brought together a new team. A team of Red Rangers. All ten of them.

"We defeated the Machines, and went our separate ways, but not without making arrangements for our future. We knew there might come a time when evils like Serpentara would be awakened again and that someone would have to stop them. We agreed to form a team, the Defenders, to be called on if something like that were to happen again. To face threats greater than anything a typical Ranger team could handle."

"So!" Shane said after thinking for a minute. "Since I'm a Red Ranger, I'm automatically in?"

Tommy nodded. "We trust that whoever your mentor is knew what he was doing when he gave you your powers."

A sheepish grin spread across Shane's face. "Actually…he didn't have much of a choice. Long story."

Tommy nodded. "We'll have time for that later. Right now, we have to get going."

"Going where?" Shane asked.

"One of the Defenders, Leo the Red Galaxy Ranger, lives on a planet called Mirinoi," Tommy said as he activated the holo-projector embedded in the table. An image of Mirinoi shimmered to existence. Shane took a moment to marvel at the green and white world.

Tommy continued with his briefing. "Some sort of demon's appeared that was powerful enough to defeat the Galaxy Rangers. They nearly died."

"Demon?" Shane asked with disbelief. "What kind of demon?"

Another voice spoke up as two more young men entered the room.

"We don't know…" Jason Scott said.

TJ nodded, a look of determination on his face. "But we're going to find out..."

* * *

The Megaship blasted through hyperspace at maximum hyper-rush velocity on its way towards Mirinoi.

Andros led Shane down the steel-gray corridors of the ship while giving the newest red Ranger a quick tour. Shane was in shock and awe as he passed by several view ports, each showing streaks of stars flying by as the vessel traveled faster than light.

"Well…" Andros asked. "What do you think so far?"

Shane shook his head, not being able to take his eyes away from the view of space flying by. "I just got used to the fact my sensei was turned into a talking Guinea Pig…This is even more whacked out."

"The other Earth Rangers felt the same way when they first arrived," Andros said with a grin. "Sort of, anyway. Especially Cole, he's the Red Wild Force Ranger. He grew up in the jungle."

"The jungle?" Shane asked in disbelief. "The actual jungle?"

"That's right," Andros said.

Andros gave a brief background of the team to Shane on their way to the bridge. How Jason was chosen by a sage named Zordon to be the first Red Ranger, how Tommy turned from evil to eventually lead the Zeo Ranger team against the Machine Empire, Tommy passing the Turbo powers on to TJ, TJ and his team traveling to space in search for Zordon while encountering Andros who was the Red Astro Ranger, the Red Aquition Ranger from an alien world, Terre Venture's trip to Mirinoi along with Leo and the Galaxy Rangers, Carter's recruitment to Lightspeed Rescue to battle Diaboloco's demons, and Wes and Eric receiving their powers from 1,000 years into the future.

"Hey," Shane said from behind Andros as the two made their way towards the bridge. "I've been thinking something. My friend Hunter, he's the Crimson Thunder Ranger, so why wasn't he-"

"Don't go there," Andros said with a smile as he shook his head. "Touchy subject to some, apparently."

"Okay," Shane said. "Whatever, man…"

* * *

Andros and Shane walked on to the bridge just as the ship was about to arrive at Mirinoi. The bridge was identical to that of the Megaship's predecessor, only more dimly lit.

Two parallel control consoles ran across the main floor of the bridge. Tommy and Wes were at the aft console, port and starboard sides respectively, as Andros walked up to his center station.

The forward station was manned by Eric at the center, with Carter and TJ at the starboard and port sides respectively.

Shane had never felt more out of place in his life as he stood back behind Andros, keeping what he thought qualified as a safe distance.

Andros grabbed hold of the two levers in front of him. "We're coming up on Mirinoi."

Carter manipulated a few controls on his panel. "Our scanners are picking up a fight on the surface!" he said as he looked back to Andros with concern. "It's Aurico!"

Shane raised an eyebrow as he leaned towards Andros and whispered. "That's the fish guy, right?"

"Aquition," Andros shot back as he pulled the two levers towards his body and the ship dropped out of hyperspace.

Mirinoi appeared on the forward view-screen as the Megaship swung into low orbit.

"DECA," Andros commanded the ship's computer. "Put the fight up on the view screen."

The monitor switched to a view of the surface. The jungle of Mirinoi was dark and foggy as the Red Aquition Ranger battled through a group of feature-less shadow creatures, his sword reflecting the moon light as he tried his best to fend off the soldiers around him.

Tommy activated the comm unit on his console. "Jason…is the drop-ship fueled up?"

"Stocked and ready, bro," Jason answered from the other end. He had been preparing the drop ship in the Megaship's hanger with Cole to keep him company.

"Alright guys," Tommy said, "it's time to take care of business."

The Rangers started heading towards the bridge's exit, except for Shane, who stood confused and ran his hand across the back of his hair. "Umm, so how are we, like…"

Eric grabbed a hold of Shane and led him towards the turbo-lift. "Get moving, Hoody. You'll learn as you go."

* * *

Aquition Red flipped backwards while slamming his feet upside a Shadow's head. He landed, and then dashed forward towards that soldier while slicing the Shadow's chest. His blade cut through the creature, but Aurico looked back at the villain in shock as its wound simply sealed back shut as if his blade had never passed through.

The sight distracted the red Aquition Ranger as another shadow flying sidekicked him from behind, sending him crashing to the ground.

Aquitar Red rolled onto his back as a shadow leapt through the air and angled its descent so its knee would slam against his chest. The ranger quickly drew his sidearm and fired lances of golden energy at the incoming shadow. His blasts tore through the creature, causing the shadow to fall from the air.

The red Aquition Ranger flipped back to his feet while kicking another solder across the head.

A sudden wave of vertigo struck the Aquition as the woods started to spin around him.

"Not now!" the Aquition said to himself while trying to gain balance as a group of soldiers charged towards him.

Aquitar Red collapsed to his knees. The Aquition was from a world almost completely covered with water. As a result, he easily suffered from dehydration when on dry land for too long.

A Shadow kicked the Ranger upside the head, and he fell backwards while slamming his back against the hard ground.

A soldier wailed a hideous cry as it leapt towards Aquitar Red's fallen form. Before the soldier could strike, lances of red energy exploded against its chest.

The red Aquition Ranger craned his neck and saw Carter standing with smoke coming from the barrel of his recently fired Rescue Blaster. The other red rangers were standing among him.

Aurico smiled beneath his helmet.

Tommy struck a fighting stance as the Shadows regrouped to face the newly arrived team. "Back off our friend!"

The Shadows wailed as they charged forward towards the rangers.

"These guys listen about as well as all the other grunts," TJ said from besides Tommy.

Jason nodded. "They'll go down just as easy too…let's beg 'em!"

Jason leapt forward while slamming a double sidekick against a Shadow's chest. A soldier tried to sneak up behind him, but he whipped his right leg around in a hook kick that slammed across that Shadow's head.

A Shadow dropped from the trees above and drop-kicked Jason to the ground. The ranger rolled up to his knees as he pulled out his Power Morpher, a small rectangular device with a golden coin in the center, engraved with the symbol of his dinosaur.

He sprang to his feet and smashed his elbow against a Shadow's face before holding his morpher out in front of him and pressing the red activation button.

"Tyrannosaurus!" he shouted as red energy flashed across his body and he morphed into the red Tyranno Ranger.

"That's more like it," Tyranno Ranger said as he drew his Blade Blaster in dagger mode and slashed a Shadow across the chest.

Nearby, Tommy tornado kicked a soldier backwards before spinning a reverse sidekick against another soldier's chest.

He noticed that no matter how hard the soldiers were hit, they quickly recovered and bounced right back into the fight.

"Time to take it up a notch," Tommy said as he readied his Zeonizers, two braces worn over his wrists. He connected the two braces while crossing his arms across his chest.

"Zeo Ranger Five, Red!" he shouted as red energy poured across him like fire, and he morphed into Zeo Red.

"Zeo Five Power Sword!" he shouted as he held his hand up to his visor and his sword appeared in a flash of red light.

Zeo Red swung the weapon to his right, running the blade through a Shadow's neck.

Off to Tommy's right, TJ flipped a Shadow over his shoulder before slamming a sidekick against a soldier's face.

A group of five creatures slowly surrounded him he readied his Turbo Morpher and key.

"Shift into Turbo!" he shouted as he inserted the key into the morpher worn on his left wrist. He ignited his morphing sequence as red energy streaked across his body like lightning and he transformed into Turbo Red.

"Auto Blaster!" he shouted as he pulled out his sidearm and fired lances of green energy that exploded against the Shadows.

Andros and Carter stood back to back as they defended themselves against a group of Shadows.

Carter slammed a hook punch across a soldier's head while Andros jump kicked a Shadow backwards.

Carter slammed an uppercut against another soldier. "There's too many of these things!"

"Not for long," Andros said as he readied his Digimorpher.

Carter nodded as he readied his Rescue Morpher.

"Let's Rocket!" Andros shouted as he keyed the morphing sequence "3-3-5-Enter" into the brace worn on his left wrist. Energy flashed around him as he transformed into Astro Red.

"Lightspeed Rescue!" Carter shouted as his armor wrapped around his body and he transformed into Rescue Red.

Rescue Red activated his Rescue Blaster in baton mode and struck a soldier across the shoulder.

"Spiral Saber!" Astro Red shouted as his Drill Saber appeared in a flash of red energy and he ran it through a soldier in front of him.

Nearby, Cole double front kicked a Shadow to the ground before spinning a backfist blow that slammed against a soldier who had tried to sneak up behind him.

Cole readied his Growl Phone and shouted "Wild Access!"

Red energy flashed across Cole's body as he morphed into Wild Red.

Wild Red leapt forward while clawing a soldier across the face.

Off to the side, Wes front kicked a soldier in the gut, then followed with a round kick to that Shadow's face.

A group of six Shadows regrouped and ran towards him while hissing and shrieking a war cry.

Wes stared boldly ahead at the incoming soldiers as he readied his Chrono Morpher.

"Time for, Time Force!" he shouted as he pressed down on his morpher's activation plate. Red energy flashed across his body as he transformed into Time Red.

Time Red dashed forward while arming his Chrono Sabers and hacked through the soldiers in a blur of motion.

Nearby, Eric and Shane bashed into a group of soldiers with a a flurry of kicks and punches.

Shane spin kicked a Shadow back before snapping a reverse sidekick against another Shadow's face.

Through the corner of his eye, Shane noticed that Eric's moves were far more conservative and close quarters.

"Man he's brutal!" Shane said quietly to himself.

While he was distracted, a pair of Shadows kicked Shane to the ground.

Eric stood in a fighting stance, noticing Shane had fallen, as Shadows circled around him.

"I'm sick of you demons already," Eric said as he held his Quantum Controller up to his mouth. "Quantum power!"

Red fiery energy shimmered around Eric as he morphed into the red armor of the Quantum Ranger.

A Shadow leapt towards Shane to deliver a fatal blow, but the blade of the Quantum Defender struck the soldier from the air.

Quantum Ranger moved in and sidekicked another soldier away from Shane before spinning forward and running his blade horizontally across a Shadow.

"Get changed," Quantum Ranger said to Shane as he struck a creature across the collar bone with his blade. "Promise I won't peak."

Shane rose to his feet. "Here goes nothing!"

He whipped off his clothing as he revealed his black leathery ninja suit. He readied the Gyro Morpher on his left wrist as he shouted "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form! Ha!"

A cyclone of energy circled around Shane as he transformed into Wind Red.

"Power of Air!" he shouted as he struck a fighting pose.

Wind Red drew his saber and shouted "Ninja Air Assault!" as he dashed across midair while slashing soldiers left and right with his blade.

He flipped back to the ground and turned, expecting to see the Shadows lying on the ground in unmoving masses. Instead, the Shadows were still standing as their wound sealed shut.

"Not exactly fair," Wind Red said as he took a step back.

The ten Rangers regrouped and assumed defensive stances, except for Aquitar Red who was leaning on Zeo Red for support.

The Shadows regrouped as well and stalked towards the Rangers, their numbers just as strong.

Turbo Red shook his head as he readied his Turbo Lightning Sword. "We didn't even phase 'em."

"Keep it together guys," Zeo Red said. "They can't hold out forever."

"Hate to break it to you," Wind Red said, "but neither can we."

"Don't give up," Wild Red said from besides Wind Red.

Shane opened his faceplate and gave the red Wild Force Ranger a look of disbelief. "I don't suppose you have anything useful to say!"

The Shadows all leapt forward as they howled a hideous high-pitched war cry.

"Fire Power!" a voice called from within the trees as a massive wave of flame poured over the Shadows and incinerated them.

The Red Galaxy Ranger, Leo, limped from the trees and collapsed to his knees while using his Quasar Saber for support. He was obviously injured.

"Leo!" Astro Red shouted as he and the others ran to Galaxy Red's side.

Galaxy Red looked up at the team as he powered down. His clothing was war-torn, and his skin was dirty and bruised.

"Nice of you guys to show up," Leo said. Astro Red and Rescue Red helped him to his feet.

The other Rangers powered down.

"What happened?" Jason asked.

Leo shook his head as he tried to catch his breath. "It's a long story!those Shadows though!they're not even close to the worst of it!and they're only affected by my fire power for some reason!"

"Guys!" Tommy said as he held Aurico up. "We need to get him to water. Now!"

"This way," Leo said as he led them through the woods. "There's a stream nearby."

* * *

Deeper in the jungles of Mirinoi, Aurico was submerged in a narrow calm stream as Cole sat crouched in a tree above, keeping watch for any incoming hostiles.

Shane was standing at the trunk of the tree while leaning backwards with is arms crossed, and Eric was walking around their temporary camp site while doing a visual survey of the area.

At the shore of the stream, Jason, Tommy, Andros, TJ, Carter, and Wes were gathered around Leo as the Galaxy ranger updated them on what had been happening on Mirinoi.

"It started around a month ago," Leo explained. "There's a group of Mirinites that started rebelling as soon as Terre Venture crashed here, but they only recently got desperate."

"How so?" Wes asked.

"They found and ancient temple said to contain one of their gods…the god of strife," Leo continued. "The Mirinites decided to try and awaken their god to chase us off their planet. The Rangers and I took out Quasar Sabers and tried to stop them…we don't do as well as hoped."

"Those shadows back there…" Jason asked, "were they this Strife's foot soldiers?"

Leo nodded. "They're only affected by my fire power. Legend on Mirinoi said it was the original Galaxy Red that managed to imprison Strife…that must be why."

"Did they release him?" Tommy asked of Strife.

Leo shook his head. "We interrupted the ceremony before they could free Strife…only his grunts made it through."

"You said there's worse out there," Andros said. "If not this Strife…then who?"

"The leader of the rebel tribe used some kind of…" Leo shook his head as he searched for the right word. "Karone called it techno-magic. He summoned some sort of demon."

"From the Shadow World?" Carter asked.

"Where else," TJ said.

"This demon," Leo explained as the others noted the fear in his eyes. "He can control flesh. The others and I tried to stop him, but my friends were captured by a group of Shadows. This demon…he changed them."

"Into what?" Tommy asked.

Leo shook his head as his eyes stared ahead blankly. "Some sort of creatures…mockeries of the animals their powers are based on."

Jason shook his head in disbelief. "Do you have any idea what their plans are now?"

"Yes," Leo said. "They're going back to Strife's temple. They're going to try to awaken him again. Tonight."

Tommy sighed. "We better get a move on, then."

"Not yet," Leo said. "The leader of this terrorist tribe has a prison camp set up. As soon as we make a move towards the temple, they'll start killing people."

"We'll split into teams," Andros said.

Tommy nodded. "One group will free the prisoners. The other will head to the temple."

"How do we stop them once we get there?" Carter asked.

"I don't know," Leo said. "But I know someone who can help us. A wise man who lives in the wilderness not too far from here."

"Alright," Tommy said. "Leo, you and I will go with Jason, Aurico, and Andros to find this wise man. Wes and Carter, you two take Eric, Cole, Shane, and TJ to rescue those prisoners."

"You can count on us," Wes said firmly as he looked to Leo.

* * *

Shane watched the group from afar while leaning against the tree with his arms crossed. He breathed a sigh of impatience as he shook his head.

"Man, what's taking them so long," he said quietly.

"You could just go over there, ya know," Eric said as he stepped out from behind the tree.

"Something tells me I wouldn't exactly fit in," Shane said.

Eric patted Shane on the back before walking towards the group. "Not necessarily a bad thing, Hoody."

Shane wrinkled his brow with confusion as he shook his head, watching Eric walk off. "Talk about mood swings!"

**To be continued…**


	2. Mission to Mirinoi: Part Two

**Defenders: Part Two**

The prison camp was concealed within the side of a large mountain in an area surrounded by trees that seemed to stretch up as far as the sky itself.

A group of renegades paced back and forth across the compound's large steal doors. They were joined by what appeared to be a group of wolf-men armored in chest plates of silver and carrying various bladed weapons. The Rangers assumed they had been created by the flesh demon.

Wes, Eric, Carter, Cole, Shane, and TJ crouched in the bushes as they watched the soldiers move about the compound.

Eric looked to Wes. "There's not that many. We could rush them."

"Too risky," Wes said as he shook his head.

"We could try a small diversionary tactic to draw some of them away," Carter recommended. "Then the rest of us could move in."

Wes again shook his head. "We don't know how many are inside. If they get suspicious, they might start killing people."

Shane leaned forward towards Wes. "What if one of us just snuck in there?"

"How?" Eric asked.

"I'm a ninja, man," Shane said. "Art of invisibility…"

"It'd be worth a shot," Carter said.

Wes nodded. "Okay…here's the plan!"

* * *

Leo led Tommy, Jason, Aurico, and Andros through the woods of Mirinoi on their way towards the wise-man that could help them with their quest. They had no way of knowing they were being watched.

A slender female figure sat in a cat-like pose in the trees above. Her skin was covered in a light coat of silk black fur with white spots. She had a long tail and a face of a lioness. She used to be human…that was before the flesh demon defeated her. Transformed her.

Karone narrowed her feline eyes and continued to watch the group below, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

* * *

Cole was disguised as a Mirinoi native as he dove from the trees and somersaulted forward across the ground towards the guards before rolling to his feet.

"Hey you!" he shouted as he pointed at the soldiers. "Mark my words…my brothers will be freed."

The ranger dove for cover back into the trees as a group of wolf-men ran after him to hunt him down. The wolf-men ran at top speeds as they gained on Cole.

Cole sprang up into the branches above. The wolves came to a halt below him just as Eric stepped out from behind a tree with his Silver-Guardian's issue blaster aimed forward.

"Hiya fellas," he said as he opened fire.

Back at the compound, the rest of the guards and wolves snapped to attention as they heard the gunfire in the distance. Before they could react, Wes and Carter sprang forward while readying their morphers.

"Time for, Time Force!" Wes shouted as energy swirled around him in a digital vortex and he morphed into Time Red.

"Lightspeed Rescue!" Carter yelled as a shield of energy enveloped him and he became Rescue Red.

The Mirinite guards stepped backwards as the lead shouted to his subordinates. "The prisoners! Get the prisoners!"

The wolf creatures leapt forward with their fangs outstretched and jaws open as they leapt forward towards the Rangers at blinding speed.

Time Red grabbed a creature by the open jaw and twisted the monster's neck before kicking it backwards. He ran forward towards another wolf and jump-double-sidekicked that creature in the chest while pushing off and snapping that leg across another wolf's face while still in midair.

A wolf swung a jagged blade towards Rescue Red's helmet, but he parried the blow with his Rescue baton and followed by slamming the end of the weapon against the creature's snout and smashing a sidekick against its chest.

Inside the compound, a group of guards ran down the central corridor towards the cage holding the prisoners. A black blur of motion dropped down in front of the cage as if from no where. It was Shane.

"It's play time," he said as he extended his wind morpher and activated a flurry of throwing stars that shot out from the device like gyros and knocked the weapons from the guards' hands.

Shane charged forward and jumped to his right, landing his feet against the wall before spinning off and slamming his left heal across a guard's face.

The ranger landed and snapped a sidekick against a soldier's face before turning to his left and slamming a backfist blow against another guard.

* * *

Further in the woods, the five other rangers continued their trek. That was until a high-pitched squeal cut through the air and a black-skinned humanoid creature with wings swooped down towards them.

"Duck!" Tommy shouted as they leapt for cover. The creature landed in front of them. It had dark red eyes and spikes growing along its forehead. The wings extending from his back appeared draconic in nature.

"It's morphin time!" Tommy yelled as the five rangers activated their morphers and a brilliant flash of red energy morphed them into their respective armor.

Galaxy Red tilted his head as he looked at the winged creature.

"Wait!" he started to tell the others.

Before he could, a feminine wolf-like creature dressed in rags leapt out and tackled him to the ground while clawing at his armor.

"Leo!" Astro Red shouted, but a large guerilla-type creature swung down from the branches at frightening speeds and grabbed onto the Ranger while swinging forward and smashing his helmet through a tree trunk.

"C'mon," Zeo Red shouted as he and Tyranno Ranger ran to help, but the feline creature that used to be Karone landed on top of Zeored with her legs wrapped around his head. She flipped backwards while tossing the Ranger off his feet and sending him crashing against a tree.

"Oh man, Tommy!" Tyranno Ranger yelled as he heard a stampeding noise close in from behind him. He instinctively back flipped through the air as the creature passed under him.

Tyranno Ranger landed in a fighting stance as he faced a muscular bull-man with giant pointed horns.

The bull charged forward, and this time Tyranno Ranger stood his ground.

The bull charged forward, and Tyranno Ranger blocked the creature by grabbing onto its horns. The bull pushed forward and nearly overpowered the Ranger, but he relaxed his grip while leaning into a back flip and kicking the creature upside the head. Tyranno Ranger immediately sprang forward with a jump kick that crashed against the creature's jaw, and followed with a reverse sidekick, but the bull grabbed onto the Ranger's leg and swung him around before tossing him through a tree trunk.

On the ground nearby, Galaxy Red was still lying on his back as the female wolf creature had her legs straddled around him while clawing against his chest armor. The Ranger lifted his legs and kicked the creature in the back of her head before flipping her off his body.

Galaxy Ranger rose to his feet and assumed a lion-like fighting stance.

"Guys stop!" Galaxy Red shouted. "It's them…the other Galaxy Rangers!"

* * *

A trio of wolf soldiers were hurtled through the brush and slammed against the walls of the compound before slumping to the ground.

Quantum Ranger and Wild Red leapt forward and rushed towards the rest of the soldiers of guards nearby Rescue Red and Time Red, who were fighting back to back.

Turbo Red leapt down from the roof of the compound while kicking a wolf soldier backwards and arming his Turbo Lightning Sword.

The Red Turbo Ranger parried a wolf's blade before swinging his sword horizontally across the creature's chest and snapping a jump-reverse hook kick that slammed against the wolf's head and tossed the creature back against the compound's wall.

A group of guards and wolves crashed through the compound door and landed outside as a blur of red motion flashed around them and landed on the ground in a crouched position. It was Wind Red.

"All clear," he said as he leapt forward and the six Rangers regrouped.

The remaining Wolfmen regrouped as well and stalked forward towards the Rangers.

"Chrono Sabers!" Time Red shouted as he downloaded his blades. "Let's finish these dogs off!"

Rescue Red ran forward with his weapon. "V-Lancer!" he shouted as his blade powered up with fiery energy. He swung the weapon through a pair of wolves in a â€˜v' formation.

Turbo Red spun forward, similar to the method of attack he used when the blue Astro Ranger, and shouted "Turbo Lightning Sword!" his blade energized as he held the sword vertically and hacked through a group of villains.

"Time Strike!" Time Red yelled as he swung his energized blades vertically through a pair of wolves while in midair.

"Blazing Fire!" Wild Red shouted as he energized his lion fangs and slashed them diagonally through a group of wolves.

Wind Red's saber crackled with electric energy as he shouted "Ninja Sword!" and swung the blade diagonally through a group of wolves.

"Quantum Defender!" Quantum Ranger shouted as his blade powered up with fiery energy. He dashed forward while high blocking a blow and spinning, slashing a horizontal strike across the creature's chest, then turned and cut through the wolf in a 'v' formation.

The creatures all fell backwards as the energy inside of them overloaded and exploded.

The people of Mirinoi left the compound and walked forward, only without looks of joy at their freedom.

Wind Red leaned over to Quantum Ranger. "You think they'd be a little happier!"

The Mirinites suddenly started to melt as if turning to liquid. They created a pool that started to swirl together and stretch up into the sky in a torrent of matter. The torrent shrank back down and assumed a single humanoid form, twice the size of each Ranger.

The creature dark twisted flesh covered with gray bone-armor plating over the chest, legs and arms. Bony spikes grew from its shoulders and elbows. It's face was black and twisted with no features.

The Rangers heard a cackling noise come from behind the creature, and they looked to see someone standing on top of the compound dressed in a black silk cloak. His skin was purple and his eyes solid yellow. Stands of black hair were strewn about his head.

"You Terrans are amusing," the cloaked man said.

Wild Red aimed his Crystal Saber at the demon. "We're not here for your entertainment."

"I bed to differ," the cloaked man said as a sly grin revealed rows of pointed teeth. "Don't you know a trap when you see one? The prisoners were never here…they're at the temple…the proper place for sacrifices, yes?"

Time Red tightened his grip on his Chrono Saber. "You must be that flesh demon!"

"But of course," the demon said as he bowed his head mockingly. "Morphos, at your service."

"Morphos?" Quantum Ranger asked with disbelief as he readied his Quantum Defender in blaster mode. "You've gotta be kidding me."

He aimed his weapon forward and fired lances of energy towards the demon. Morphos held up his cloak, which seemed to absorb the blasts.

The giant creature stomped forward to defend its master.

"Ninja Air Assault!" Wind Red said as he ran across the air while holding his blade in attack position.

The giant used his left forearm to block Wind Red's sword and swung his right backfist across the Ranger's chest. Wind Red was hit hard by the blow and sent crashing backwards across the ground.

The giant ran forward to attack the fallen Ranger, but lances of red energy struck his side. He looked to his left to see Quantum Ranger blasting him with his weapon.

"Over here, tiny," Quantum Ranger shouted as he continued firing.

Time Red ran forward towards the giant with his blades ready as Turbo Red and Rescue Red fell in besides him with their weapons.

Time Red leapt forward, somersaulting through the air and slamming a flying sidekick against the creatures chest before flipping backwards and kicking the creature upside the head.

Rescue Red aimed his Rescue Blaster and fired several rounds of energy blasts as Turbo Red leapt off his shoulder and somersaulted forward towards the giant while slicing his blade down vertically across the creature.

Wild Red leapt forward from the creature's side in a pouncing position, but the creature grabbed a hold of the Ranger with his massive palm and slammed Wild Red against the ground.

"Hawk Blaster!" Wind Red shouted as he fired from a crouched position behind the creature.

The giant turned and swung another backhand blow towards the Ranger, but he sprang up in a blur of motion while leaping forward and driving his blade through the creature's chest like a spear. He held on tightly while perched on the creature's chest and turned the blade, twisting the wound further open.

"Payback kinda stings, huh?" Wind Red said as he drove the blade in further and flipped backwards.

The Rangers regrouped.

"Aim for the wound," Rescue Red said as he pointed his Rescue Blaster forward and fired.

"Chrono Blaster!" Time Red shouted as he fired with his weapon.

"Auto Blaster, Turbo Mode!" Turbo Red shouted as he fired bursts of super-charged golden energy.

"Quantum Defender!"

"Lion Blaster!" Wild Red shouted as he fired streams of energy with his gatling gun.

"Hawk Blaster!"

Their combined shots tore through the creatures body, ripping the giant apart as it splattered across the jungle floor in a mess of liquefied flesh.

Morphos narrowed his eyes at the Rangers. "Now I'm angry…do you know how I deal with anger?"

"Group therapy?" Wind Red asked sarcastically.

"This," Morphos said as he extended his hand and fired a jagged blast of green energy that exploded against the ground, tossing the Rangers through the air like rag dolls as the demon descended.

He stalked forward and lifted Wind Red up by the neck. Shane's armor shimmered briefly before it was forcibly powered down.

"Now!" Morphos said with a sick grin spread across his face. "How about I fashion you into a human hawk? Or perhaps a crow?"

"I would rather you didn't," Shane said as he struggled to breath despite the demon's iron grasp around his neck.

"Of course," Morphos said. "That's what makes this game so delightful."

* * *

Astro Red tilted his head as his eyes opened wide beneath his visor, staring at the feline creature in front of him. "Karone!?"

She pounced forward, but Astro Red somersaulted over her and landed just as she stopped in her tracks and snapped her heel across Astro Red's helmet. She moved forward while swiping at him with her claws, but he only parried and blocked, not wanting to hurt his sister.

"Karone, stop!" he pleaded, but she was more animal than human and could not understand.

The winged creature Damon had morphed into swooped towards Zeo Red with his fists extended.

Zeo Red launched forward, smashing a left flying sidekick against Damon's face before spinning in midair and snapping a right hook kick across the creature's temple. Damon crashed to the ground and skidded forward before rising to his feet, turning to glare at Zeo Red.

"I'd give up if I were you," Zeo Red said.

Damon hissed and spat a volley of darts that exploded against Zeo Red's armor while he dove for cover.

Kai's massive arms squeezed around Tyranno Ranger, pinning him in a bear hug as he struggled to break free.

"Put me down you big ape," he said as he crashed his forehead against Kai's face repeatedly.

Kai's grip slackened enough for Tyranno Ranger to free his arms and slam knife-hand blows against the creature's collar bone, bringing the guerilla to its knees.

Maya charged forward towards Aquitar Red while swinging her wolf-like claws. The Aquition struggled to evade and dodge each blow before grabbing her wrist and round kicking her against the back.

Maya retaliated by clawing Aquitar Red across the face plate and kneeing him in the midsection.

Galaxy Red stood in a defensive position as the bull that used to be his older brother Mike snarled at him.

"Mike!" he said. "You've got to fight this..."

Mike charged forward with his hors held down. Galaxy Red grabbed onto the creature's horn and swung Mike to the right, letting go as the creature stumbled off its feet and slid across the ground.

"I don't want to hurt you, Mike!" Galaxy Red said.

The bull snarled and charged forward again. Galaxy Red grabbed the horns as before, but this time Mike double punched his brother in the chest. Galaxy Red was forced back as Mike picked him up with both horns and tossed him backwards.

Aquitar Red helped Galaxy Red to his feet as the five Rangers regrouped. The former Galaxy Rangers regrouped as well.

"We need a plan," Tyranno Ranger said.

"We can't hurt them," Galaxy Red insisted.

"We have to do something," Zeo Red said.

The five beasts charged forward with blood-thirsty looks in their once human eyes.

* * *

Shane struggled against the grasp of Morphos as the demon smiled with vicious delight. The ranger reached up with his right hand and grabbed the demon by the wrist. He followed by slammed his palm against the creature's locked elbow, snapping the bone in half and causing Morphos to scream in pain.

The demon's grip slackened as Shane sprang to his feet and slammed his elbow against the demon's face.

Morphos fell backwards as red energy shimmered around Shane and he transformed back into his armor.

The other five Rangers joined around him and they assumed fighting stances as Morphos pulled himself to his feet.

"Resilient little bugs," Morphos scoffed as extended his hand and fired a jagged energy burst. The Rangers leapt aside to avoid the resulting explosion.

"Take this, grape face," Quantum Ranger said as he aimed his Defender and fired several energy bursts that exploded against the Demon's chest.

"Grape Face?" Wind Red said as he shook his head. "That's the best you could do?"

"Like to see you do better, Hoody," Quantum Ranger said as he smiled beneath his helmet.

Rescue Red charged forward while arming his V-Lancer. "Cut the chatter!"

The Lightspeed Ranger spun towards Morphos while extending his staff's blade, but the demon grabbed the Ranger's staff before it could connect and blasted Rescue Red backwards with a pair of yellow-tinted optic blasts that exploded against his armor.

Wild Red leapt down behind Morphos as if from nowhere and slammed both his feet against the demon's back while flipping backwards and landing in a crouched position. The Wild Force Ranger drew his Crystal Saber and pounced forward like a lion, swinging the blade horizontally.

Morphos extended his hand as his palm pulsed with jade energy and the Crystal Saber shot away from Wild Red's hand and crashed against Turbo Red's armor with an explosion of sparks.

The demon whipped his cloak around as it smashed Wild Red backwards, and the Ranger went skidding across the ground.

"You Rangers may have more power than I," Morphos said, "but when it comes to experience…I have 10 million years on your!"

Wind Red suddenly sprang up behind Morphos and held the demon by wrapped his arms underneath the creature's arms and placing his hands along the back of the demon's head.

"Hit him!" Wind Red shouted.

"With pleasure," Quantum Ranger said as he, Rescue Red, Time Red, and Turbo Red aimed their blasters forward and fired.

A shower of sparks exploded across the demon's chest before Wind Red tossed the demon aside and drew his Ninja Sword.

"Say goodbye," Wind Red said as his blade energized with blue-tinted electrical power. He swung the weapon forward and it sliced through the body of the demon, snapping through his flesh and bone as the energy inside of him overloaded and he exploded.

Quantum Ranger walked up besides Wind Red. "Not bad!"

"Not bad?" Wind Red asked. "I toasted him. That was awesome."

* * *

The temple of Strife was an ornate black spire that extended past the treetops of Mirinoi in a vast clearing. A ring of knee-high stone with a 25-meter radius surrounded the spire, and various sculptures and statues of onyx marble extended from the ring. The captured tribesman were tied in circles around the spire.

Torches provided faint illumination around the temple area as various rebels of Mirinoi tribes walked among groups of Shadows and Wolfmen.

The leader of the rebellion walked among his tribesman with a crooked smile on his face. His name was Drenae. He had short dark hair and a neatly trimmed goatee that halfway concealed a scar running from his chin to cheek. His robes were black as night.

A young tribesman ran up to Drenae and bowed. "Everything is ready for the ceremony, sir!All the captive are bound to the spire."

"What of the Rangers?" Drenae asked, but there was no need for an answer.

As if on cue, the five creatures formerly known as the Galaxy Rangers escorted Tommy, Jason, Andros, Aurico, and Leo towards the temple area. They were bound in chains and their morphers were being carried in a black pouch slung over the bull creature's shoulder.

The Rangers had been overpowered by the five beasts since they were unwilling to harm them.

Drenae walked over to Leo, his evil eyes glowing with joy. "So good to see you again, Leo…I see you've brought friends."

Leo narrowed his eyes at the rebel leader. "You won't get away with this, Drenae."

"Right, right," Drenae said mockingly. "And I suppose even if you die someone else will take your place, evil will never win, it's not over yet, cliché, cliché, cliché…"

Drenae turned his attention to the spire and walked forward as one of his men brought him a thick book with ancient symbols covering its pages. It was the Galaxy Book he had somehow seized.

"Let's get this show started," Drenae said as he began chanting from the book. Blue energy crackled from its pages and struck the spire. The spire reverberated with power as a torrent of energy flowed from it and shot straight towards the sky.

"We have to do something," Leo said to his teammates as Drenae continued his chant with a mad look in his eyes.

A pair of small red metallic blades suddenly cut through the air and exploded against Drenae's back as he fell to the ground and the book slid from his grasp.

Shane leapt from the trees along with Carter, Wes, Eric, TJ, and Cole.

Tommy used the distraction to strike like lightning. He used his own chains to whip underneath Mike's legs and pulled the beasts legs out from underneath him as he crashed to the ground.

The others did the same, using their bindings to push away the beasts as Wes and his group ran to Tommy's group and freed them from their chains.

"Perfect timing," Tommy said.

"I always liked close calls," Jason said.

The five beats regrouped along with the Shadows and Wolfmen as the eleven rangers regrouped with their morphers at the ready.

Drenae rose to his feet as electricity crackled around him and his body seemed to fade away in a flash of static revealing his true form.

It was Deviot.

**To be continued…**


	3. Mission to Mirinoi: Part Three

**Defenders: Part Three**

"Deviot?!" Leo said with shock as he snapped into a fighting stance.

"Must I explain everything to you dolts?" Deviot asked in a cold metallic voice. "When you defeated Trakeena in her green form that first time years ago, our two bodies split from each other. That was how she was able to return on your miserable home planet of Earth, and how I was able to return here.

"I adapted a holographic disguise and turned the very people of Mirinoi against you," Deviot said with pride. "Now that that's out of the way…kill them!"

Deviot pointed forward as the Shadows, Wolfmen, and former Galaxy Rangers charged forward.

Tommy stepped forward. "It's time to take care of business, guys!"

Jason nodded. "Let's do it."

"It's morphin' time!" Tommy shouted.

Jason held out his box-shaped power morpher and coin, re-energized by Ninjor during what he and the others had called the Countdown to Destruction. "Tyrannosaurus!" he shouted as red energy flashed around him. He morphed into his armor as he snapped into a fighting pose. "Tyranno Ranger, Red!"

Tommy armed his Zeonizers which had been recovered from the Power Chamber's ruins. "Zeo Ranger Five, Red!" he shouted as he connected the braces, and with a pulse of red energy, his armor flowed across his body in a wave of power. He snapped into a fighting stance. "Zeo Red!"

Aurico placed his left hand over his chest, a box-shaped wrist morpher strapped beneath his sleeve. "Red Aquitar Ranger Power!" he shouted as red energy flowed across his body. His armor flashed into existence as he assumed a fighting stance. "Aquitar Red!"

TJ readied his Turbo Morpher and key, transformation devices recovered from the destroyed Robot Rangers after Dark Specter conquered Eltar. "Shift into Turbo!" he shouted as he inserted his key into his morpher. Red energy crackled around him as he transformed into his armor and assumed a fighting stance. "Turbo Red!"

Andros readied his Digimorpher which was connected to the power systems of the Astro Megaship Mark II. "Let's Rocket!" he shouted as he input the code: 3-3-5-enter. Red energy flashed around him as he morphed into his armor and stood in his fighting pose. "Astro Red!"

Leo swung his Galaxy Brace around as he slapped its activation panel. "Go, Galactic!" he shouted as fiery energy swirled around him. He morphed into his armor and he snapped into a lion-like fighting pose. "Galaxy Red! The Lion!"

Carter armed his Rescue Morpher. "Lightspeed Rescue!" he shouted as he flipped the morpher's panel open, triggering his morphing sequence as a shield of red energy flowed over him and he transformed into his armor. He snapped into a fighting stance. "Rescue Red!"

Wes armed his chrono-morpher worn on his left wrist. "Time for, Time Force!" he shouted as he slapped the activation panel. Red energy swirled around him as his armor flashed across his body. He assumed a fighting stance. "Time Red!"

Eric tossed his hat into the air as he held his morpher up to his face. "Quantum Power!" Fiery energy swirled around him as he morphed into his armor. "Quantum Ranger!"

Cole flipped open his golden morpher. "Wild Access!" he shouted as his armor flashed across his body and he stood in a lion-like fighting pose. "Blazing Lion! Wild Red!"

Shane readied his Wind Morpher. "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" he shouted as his morpher started to gyrate and swirls of energy surrounded him. He morphed into his armor and assumed a fighting stance. "Power of Air! Wind Red!"

The eleven heroes all assumed fighting stances as they shouted a war cry that brought fear to the hearts of evil doers across the galaxy: "Power Rangers!"

* * *

Deviot turned to retrieve the Galaxy Book as his soldiers ran to attack the Rangers.

Zeored slammed a reverse sidekick against a wolf's face before arming his power sword and running his blade through another creature's chest.

"We have to keep him away from that spire," Zeored said as he pulled his blade free and roundhouse kicked the wolf away with a powerful blow.

Wind Red shook his head. "Easier said than done," he said as a group of Shadows literally tackled him to the ground and piled on top of him.

"Power Sword!" Tyranno Ranger shouted as he leapt towards the Bull with his blade held high. He dropped down towards Mike while swinging his blade diagonally towards the creature's horns.

Mike used his left arm to block the blow while grabbing onto the Ranger with his right arm and throwing him backwards. Tyranno Ranger slammed against Galaxy Red and the two fell to the ground while the Bull stomped his hooves and charged forward, steam blowing from his nostrils.

Wild Red charged forward towards Maya, the Wolf creature. They tackled against each other while rolling across the ground and exchanging fierce animal-like blows.

Deviot continued to read from the Galaxy Book as red lightning crackled along the spire and the captured people of Mirinoi screamed with fear.

Damon's condor form swooped down from the sky and plucked Time Red from the ground with blinding speed before shooting straight up towards the sky.

"Oh no you don't," Time Red said as he managed to flip up onto Damon's back. The Condor started to crash dive towards the ground below as Time Red angled the wings to try and control the creature.

Damon crashed hard against the ground and started sliding across the earth below him as Time Red dug his knees hard into the creature's back.

The Wildcat Karone hissed as she pounced towards her brother, Astro Red.

Astro Red somersaulted through the air, flipping over her as he twisted his body to land behind her and grab hold of her arms.

"Karone, stop this!:" he pleaded as the Wildcat struggled.

Karone bashed the back of her head against Astro Red's faceplate. The Ranger took a few steps back in a daze as Wildcat slammed a sidekick against her brother's midsection.

Turbo Red and the Guerilla Kai charged towards each other.

"Hate to do this to ya, Kai" Turbo Red said as he aimed his weapon at the creature's feet and fired.

The Guerilla simply leapt over the blasts and drop elbowed Turbo Red to the ground, holding his elbow down against the Ranger's neck while pinning him.

Two Shadows grabbed Rescue Red by the arms, holding him still as a wolf soldier slashed its claws repeatedly across the Ranger's armor.

Rescue Red managed to pull his left arm free while backfisting that soldier across the face, then swinging that arm around to hook punch the other Shadow backwards. He pulled out his sidearm and blasted through the chest of the wolf soldier in front of him.

Before Rescue Red could spot his next target, a group of Shadows dropped onto his back and tackled him to the ground.

Quantum Ranger and Aquitar Red closed in on Deviot while hacking their way through a group of Wolfmen with their blades.

"Don't think I appreciate his taste in books," Quantum Ranger said as he slashed horizontally through a wolf soldier.

Red lightning continued to dance across the spire as Deviot continued his enchantment.

Nearby, Mike used his horns to toss Zeo Red aside like a rag doll. The Ranger twisted while midair and landed against the trunk of a tree, using it as a push off to lunge forward.

"Zeo Five Power Kick!" Zeo Red shouted as he slammed an energized flying sidekick against the Bull that sent him sliding across the ground on his back.

Tyranno Ranger and Galaxy Red moved in towards the Bull, but the creature sprang to its feet and used a pair of backhand blows to knock the two Rangers backwards.

Zeo Red moved to Galaxy Red's side and helped his teammate to his feet.

"Leo," Zeo Red said. "I know these are your friends, but we can't afford to hold back. We have to stop Deviot while you still have a planet left to save."

A group of Shadows slammed their way past Time Red and Wind Red and charged towards Zeo Red and Galaxy Red.

"Fire Power!" Galaxy Red shouted as he energized his blade with fiery power and swung horizontally. The weapon cut through the Shadows and vaporized them.

Leo looked through his visor at the injured captives as they screamed near the fire and the lightning danced dangerously close to their skin.

The Rangers regrouped around Zeo Red and Galaxy Red.

"Alright," Galaxy Red said as he pulled out two halves to a large metallic star. "We have to move fast!

"Red Armored Galaxy Ranger!" he shouted as he connected the stars and red energy flashed across his body as his gray metal armor appeared over his body, along with a green gem in the center of his chest.

Astro Red activated his Battleizer, a brace worn on his right wrist, by pressing down on the control key marked with a 3. "Red Battleized Astro Ranger!" Red energy crackled around his body as his armor bulked and a pair of metallic wings and weapon systems activated upon his back.

"Trans-armor Cycle!" Rescue Red shouted as a motorcycle dropped down from the sky and converted into a suit of armor that folded across his body, along with heavy cannon gauntlets folding across his hands and forearms.

"Battle Fire!" Time Red shouted as a suit of fiery armor appeared over his body along with a broad golden sword.

"Mega Battle, online!" Quantum Ranger shouted as his light suit of high-tech battle armor appeared over his body along with twin broad blades and wheeled boots.

"Anamarium Armor!" Wild Red shouted as a golden suit of armor appeared over his chest along with a pair of falcon-like wings extended from his back.

"Battleizer!" Wind Red shouted as his armor bulked to outline his every muscle and a suit of golden armor appeared over his chest.

The other Rangers were given no enhanced armor during their original days as Rangers. Tommy decided to rectify that situation after forming the Defenders. He spoke with Billy, who in turn developed a new set of Battleizers.

"Battleizer!" Tyranno Ranger shouted as he armed a brace worn on his right wrist that was identical to Astro Red's. "Tyranno Armor, power up!" Red energy flashed across the Ranger's body as a powerful suit of armor appeared. A chest plate wrapped around his upper body, which had the sharp-edged head of a tyrannosaurus sticking out from it. Clawed and gold-trimmed gauntlets formed over his forearms and ankles.

"Battleizer!" Zeo Red shouted as he armed his wrist brace. "Golden Phoenix armor, energize!" A flash of gold energy washed over Zeo Red as a golden chest plate wrapped around his chest with edged shoulder pads extending outward. A large golden belt wrapped around his waist as golden gauntlets wrapped over his forearms. Golden boots and knee caps flashed into existence as well. A golden visor wrapped around his helmet with small wings swooping back across his head.

"Battleizer!" Aquitar Red shouted as he activated his brace. "Ninja Battle armor!" A large golden coin with an 's' engraved in its center appeared on the Ranger's chest as a light chest plate of red covered his upper body. Red shoulder pads covered his upper arms and bulky red gauntlets formed over his forearms that matched the armored boots that flashed into existence and extended up to red bulky knee pads. A large red-trimmed golden sword appeared in his hand as a blade extended backwards from the top of his helmet.

"Battleizer!" Turbo Red shouted as he armed his brace. "Turbo Armor, rev up!" His armor bulked up as a tire shield formed over his chest. Blasters that resembled exhaust ports formed on his forearms and a gyro blade appeared on his back.

The Condor beast Damon flew forward towards the Rangers with a powerful swoop of his wings.

Zeo Red looked to Wild Red and Wind Red. "Cole, Shane, take care of Damon!"

Wind Red nodded as he activated his armor's wings. "Let's go, jungle boy!"

The two leapt straight up into the air as their wings took them above the tree tops. Damon followed with an upward arc as he snarled at the two winged Rangers.

Wild Red leveled his flight path as Wind Red rolled to port and climbed. The Condor stayed on Wild Red's tail and launched a volley of volley of poison darts from his jaw.

Wild Red rolled to starboard while diving and avoiding the dart volley. He turned and faced the Condor while jetting backwards, and Damon launched another volley of darts towards the Ranger.

Wild Red's wings folded over his chest as a shield as the darts bounced harmlessly off its surface.

With the Condor distracted, Wind Red swooped down towards Damon's back.

"Tag!" he shouted as he slammed his knees against the Condor's back, causing the creature to plummet towards the ground below.

Back at the spire, Astro Red leapt straight into the air by using his throttle pack and wings to propel him as he flipped over a pouncing strike by his sister. He landed behind Karone and aimed his bladed grav weapon at her. He fired a pulse from the weapon that pushed the Wildcat back against a tree.

"I'm sorry, Karone," he said as he manipulated the vines around the tree to tie her in place.

Nearby, Galaxy Red launched a retractable pair of claws towards Mike as his brother charged forward.

One of the claws wrapped around the Bull's body, but the creature used his strength to lift Galaxy Red off the ground and swing him backwards while crashing and shattering him through several tree trunks.

Tyranno Ranger ran in towards the Bull. He dashed forward with blinding speed and slammed his shoulder against the Bull, causing the creature to stumbled off its feet and slide across the ground.

"You wanna fight, ugly? You got it," Tyranno Ranger said as he snapped into a defensive stance.

The two charged towards each other, and at the last second, a pair of golden blades sprang from Tyranno Ranger's arms as he flipped over the creature while slicing off its horns.

Tyranno Ranger landed behind Mike and slammed a sidekick against the creature's back that sent him flying backwards and crushing through a small group of Wolfmen.

Rescue Red zoomed past Tyranno Ranger while hovering sideways on his tire-shaped boosters and aiming his gauntlet cannons forward at a group of Wolfmen.

The Red Lightspeed Ranger fired several energy pulses that tore through the soldiers.

Nearby, Quantum Ranger spun through a group of Wolfmen while holding his blades horizontally and thrashing through them.

Maya suddenly leapt onto the Quantum Ranger and tackled him to the ground, straddling him while swiping across his armor with his claws.

"Under normal circumstances this might be flattering," he said as he twirled off the ground while knocking Maya off of him.

The creature flipped backwards to recover and landed in a crouched position.

Behind Maya, the Guerilla slammed a backfist across Turbo Red's helmet and slammed an uppercut against his gut.

Turbo Red curled over on to the ground as the Guerilla leapt forward to body slam the fallen Ranger. Before the creature could connect, a black net surrounded him and pinned him against a tree trunk.

Turbo Red looked up to see Aquitar Red standing with one of his weapon gauntlets extended.

"Thanks," Turbo Red said as he rose from the ground and a group of Wolfmen charged towards them. Turbo Red's gyro blades flew from his back and arced their way through the soldiers in a blur of motion while cutting them to shreds.

Zeo Red and Time Red charged towards Deviot, but slammed against an invisible forcefield that exploded across their armor as they were thrown backwards. The forcefield surrounded the villain in every direction.

"It's too late!" Deviot shouted as a massive bolt of energy ripped into the sky. The clouds tore upon as a giant monster resembling a skeleton with a body of transparent molten lava wrapped around it crashed to the ground.

The giant creature roared as tendrils of energy began to crackle around the spire as if to lash out at the people of Mirinoi trapped at its base.

"No!" Astro Red shouted. "Battleizer Missiles!"

The missiles shot forward and damaged the spire so that its energy didn't kill the people trapped to it, but Strife continued to stomp forward and howl.

The Rangers powered down their armor and regrouped as they stared up at the giant monster.

"Alright guys," Zeo Red said. "Let's call on our zords."

"How?" Wind Red asked. "No way all our zords fit in that little ship of yours."

"Little ship?" Astro Red asked defensively.

"An old ranger named Billy rigged a new system for us," Zeo Red explained. "A gateway attached to the bottom of the Megaship will bring our zords here in a slip stream vortex."

Quantum Ranger shook his head. "Don't worry about the how, Hoody. Just do it!"

Quantum Ranger raised his left wrist to his mouth. "Q-Rex, arise!" a giant metallic dinosaur stomped through the jungles of Mirinoi as it approached Strife.

Time Red activated his Chrono Morpher. "Time Flier!" he shouted as his arrow-shaped jet zord flew through the air.

"Red Battlezord!" Zeo Red shouted as his humanoid-shaped mech shot through the skies and landed on the ground.

"Lion Galactabeast!" Galaxy Red shouted as his Galactabeast sprang from earth and rock while howling a fiery roar.

"Lion Wildzord, descend!" Wild Red shouted as his metallic lion stomped through the forest on its powerful four legs.

Tyranno Ranger smiled beneath his helmet as he extended his hand. When Ninjor restored Jason's powers, he had revived the might Tyrannosaurus Dinozord as well. A zord Tyranno Ranger hadn't seen in more than 10 years. "Tyrannosaurus Dinozord power, now!" he shouted as his zord stomped through the forest towards Strife.

"Red Shogunzord, power up!" Aquitar red shouted as he summoned the bulky humanoid warrior zord.

Astro Red activated his communicator. "Mega V-1!" he shouted as his repaired Voyager zord jet forward on a pair of shoulder-mounted thrusters.

"Hawk zord!" Wind Red shouted as his bird-like zord soared through the dark skies.

Turbo Red and Rescue Red had no zords since their destroyed ones were never rebuilt or prepared.

The other Rangers leapt into their cockpits, except for Galaxy Red who drew his Quasar Saber and prepared to face Deviot. Rescue Red and Turbo Red stood beside the Galaxy Ranger.

"It's over, Deviot," Galaxy Red said.

"We'll see," Deviot said as a cold metallic laugh rang from his throat. "We will see!"

* * *

Quantum Ranger stood on top of the Q-Rex as he aimed his Quantum Defender forward at Strife.

"Q-Rex, Fire!" he shouted as the zord's shoulder mounted cannons opened fire with lances of red-hot plasma energy to accompany his blaster fire. The attacks exploded against Strife, but the giant demi-god was more frustrated than he was hurt as he turned and growled and the zord.

Before he could strike back at the Q-Rex, another volley of energy blasts exploded against his back. He turned his head to see the Time Flier diving towards him while Mega V-1 stood on top of its hull. The Hawk zord formed up on the Time Fliers wing as the two zoomed towards their opponent.

"Shane," Astro Red commanded. "Close him in while we attack."

"Uhh…" Wind Red said as he hesitated, still slightly taken aback by his current situation. "I'll get right on that…"

The Hawk zord energized with a field of flame as it circled around the god, surrounding him with a wall of fire.

Mega V-1 opened fire with a volley of heavy rockets that exploded against Strife. The god roared as it opened its jaws and fired a torrent of flame that slammed against the Mega V-1, blasting the zord off of the Time Flier as it plummeted to the ground below.

Lances of golden energy exploded against the side of the god as he turned to see the Red Battlezord opened fire with its arm cannons.

"Over here, flame face," Zeo Red said as he poured on the power.

As Strife was distracted, a giant red tail slammed against his chest and sent the god crashing against the ground, sliding backwards as trees and ground were torn up beneath him.

The Tyrannosaurus moved in as it howled a war cry.

Strike rose to his feet as the Dinozord slammed its head against the god's chest, but Strife wrapped his hands around the zord's neck and swung the Tyrannosaurus around before letting go. The Dinozord flew through the air and crashed against the Red Shogunzord as the two collapsed to the ground.

The Galaxy Lion and Red Lion charged forward and pounced against the god while slamming him to the ground. They bit and tore at Strife with a terrifying display of savagery.

Strike grabbed hold of the zords heads with his massive hands of bone and fire as he tossed the two zords away with little effort.

Below, Galaxy Red, Turbo Red, and Rescue Red ran towards Deviot with their weapons in hand.

The villain extended his gauntlet blaster and fired.

Galaxy Red and Turbo Red leapt straight up into the air to avoid the blasts, but Rescue Red was struck against the chest as he fell backwards and his V-Lancer flew from his grasp.

Deviot angled his blaster up at the other two Rangers and blasted Turbo Red from the air.

Galaxy Red descended towards Deviot while swinging his Quasar Saber down vertically. The villain spun out of the way while bringing up his gauntlet blaster and firing an energy pulse.

Galaxy Red blocked the pulse with his sword, but the impact knocked his Quasar Saber from his hand. Deviot extended his other hand and fired a jagged burst of yellow energy that exploded against Galaxy Red's chest.

The battle continued to rage above.

"Jason," Zeo Red instructed. "We have to take this guy out. Use your zord to knock him off his feet…then we'll hit him with everything we've got."

"Got it, Tommy," Tyranno Ranger said. "Tyrannosaurus Dinozord, full power!"

The zord opened its massive jaw and fired an energy pulse at the ground, sending a shockwave that tore towards Strife and exploded underneath the god, knocking him from his feet.

"Now!" Zeo Red shouted as he opened fire with his zord's arm cannons.

Mega V-1 blasted forward on its back thrusters while launching a missile salvo.

Red Hawk and Time Flier flew side by side while firing pulse blasts.

Q-Rex opened fire with blasts of plasma energy.

The two lions stood side by side and opened their jaws to release streams of red energy.

The Shogunzord armed its shield weapon and tossed the bladed weapon forward in a blur of energy.

The combined attacks caused a massive explosion that shook the earth of Mirinoi with a thunderous roar.

Wind Red shook his head in disbelief as he saw Strife stand upright from the smoke and flames. The god was not damaged.

"I don't suppose you have a dozen spare Megazords lying around someplace," Wind Red said.

"We'll have to be creative," Quantum Ranger said as he lifted his brace to his helmet. "Q-Rex, warrior mode!"

The Q-Rex transformed into its two-armed warrior form as Quantum Ranger entered the zord's small cockpit.

The Q-Rex extended its hand and launched a missile salvo that exploded harmlessly against the god.

Strife turned his attention towards the Q-Rex as Zeored moved in with his zord. "You're goin' down, match for brains!"

The Red Battlezord slammed its fists against the god with a flurry of high-speed punches as the robo's gears and servos whined from the stress.

Strife slammed a double punch that sent the zord flipping of its feet and flying out of control through the air. The Red Battlezord slammed against the Dinozord and the two collapsed.

Mega V-1 dashed sideways while facing forward and unloading a missile salvo that exploded harmlessly across Strife's body.

Red Battlezord rose to its feet and fired another storm of energy pulses with its gattling cannon, while the Time Jet flew forward with a round of energy blasts.

Zeored watched the battle progress through his zord's cockpit as he shook his head. "We're going about this all wrong. We need to extinguish his flame."

Time Red looked from his cockpit to the Q-Rex. "Eric, use your Max Blizzard."

Quantum Ranger lifted his brace to his helmet. "Q-Rex! Max Blizzard!"

The zord's shoulder cannons fired streams of green energy that slammed against the god and spread across his body. The Q-Rex's main weapon was designed to place criminals from the future into a form of cryogenic suspension.

Strife howled as his flames seemed to start dying down and frost started to form across his body.

"Now!" Zeo Red shouted. "Hit him with everything you've got!"

Mega V-1 fired a missile salvo as Hawk zord and Time Flier flew forward from behind the robo and launched lances of energy towards the god.

Wild Lion and Galactalion opened their jaws and fired torrents of energy.

Shogunzord hurled its slider forward like a gyro blade.

The blasts slammed against Strife as parts of his body shattered and he howled in pain.

"Lights out," Zeored said as he pushed his control levers forward, bringing his gattling cannons to full and opening fire.

The lances of energy from his zord ripped through the god's flesh and bone as he was thrown backwards off his feet towards Tyranno Ranger's zord.

The Tyrannosaurus swung its tail, slamming against the god while in mid air as Strife shattered to pieces in an explosion of fiery energy.

Back on the ground below, Rescue Red was kicked backwards in the chest by Deviot. The mage turned to his right and blasted Turbo Red against the Ranger's helmet.

Galaxy Red moved in, his sword a blur of motion as he swung at Deviot. The villain managed to parry or dodge each blow.

When did he get so fast? Galaxy Red thought to himself as he continued to press forward. The last time he had encountered Deviot, the villain barely possessed fighting skills better than a Swabbie.

Galaxy Red was familiar with the villain's history, but it never included skills like Deviot was displaying.

Deviot had at one time been an apprentice under an evil magic user known as Malkor in the M-51 Galaxy. Malkor was the ruler of a small inhabited moon, and when Deviot had first expressed interest in inheriting the moon, Malkor had tried to kill him. Deviot had put up a pretty good fight, but in the end, he was defeated and his burned and battered corpse was left for dead.

Several days after Deviot's 'death', a group of Technomancers, people who used a combination of science and magic, found him and rejuvenated him into his current cybernetic form. Deviot had asked why he was saved and the Technomancers replied that they sensed great potential and great evil in him.

Deviot stayed with the Technomancers for a short time until they were able to defeat Malkor and conquer the moon. Once the Technomancers were in control, Deviot slaughtered their leader ship and took on all the power of leadership himself.

That was how Deviot operated. Deceit. He was never a warrior.

Galaxy Red swung his saber horizontally, but Deviot caught the blade with his bare hand and twisted to his right. The villain slammed a backfist blow against Galaxy Red's helmet before kicking him in the gut.

The Red Galaxy Ranger fell backwards as his saber flew from his grasp.

Deviot slowly inched towards the fallen Rangers as he laughed, arming his gauntlet cannon. "I've been preparing for this moment since the day your cursed colony crashed on this primitive planet."

Galaxy Red narrowed his eyes at the villain beneath his visor as he glared at the Ranger. "What are you waiting for then!do it."

Deviot's gauntlet whined with energy as he charged for a finishing blow. "Farewell, Galaxy Ranger!"

Galaxy Red swung his arm horizontally with lightning-quick speed as he hurled his transdagger forward. The dagger crashed against Deviot's gauntlet, and the cannon exploded on Deviot's arm.

Deviot screamed as he backed away, his arm blaze.

Galaxy Red rose to his feet as he summoned his saber back into his grasp. "Looks like you should have trained a little harder."

Deviot howled a cry of pure rage as he charged forward towards Galaxy Red. The Ranger charged his blade with crimson energy and spun forward while running his blade through Deviot horizontally, cutting through metal and twisted flesh.

Galaxy Red turned and arced his saber diagonally, slicing open Deviot's armor as the villain fell backwards.

Deviot's fallen form crackled with energy as his eyes started to dim. Power surges coursed through his armor as his entire body exploded in a ball of flames.

Galaxy Red slowly lowered his saber, the flames reflecting off his visor as he stared down at his enemy's remains.

* * *

A large thriving city expanded across Mirinoi from the remains of Terre Venture. Hover-cars traveled the streets below as a large mono rail served as the preferred means for public transportation.

The city's main hospital was at the east side of the city. The towering building also housed several research groups.

Shane stood by a wide window at the top floor of the hospital as he looked out upon the city below.

He and the other rangers were gathered in a small lobby, awaiting word from the doctor's looking over Mike and the other Galaxy Rangers.

Tommy walked up besides Shane as he looked out to the city below. "Nice view!"

Shane nodded. "Hard to believe we're on a whole â€˜nother planet."

"You'll get used to it," Tommy said with a lopsided grin. He placed a hand on Shane's shoulder. "You did a good job today. We're glad to have you with us."

Leo entered the lobby area as the other red rangers turned and gave their attention.

"They're going to be okay," Leo said. "The doctors said it's going to take some time to reverse the spell…"

Aurico nodded. "We are glad to hear it."

Wes turned to Tommy. "We should be heading back."

"Right," Tommy said as he walked over to the red galaxy ranger. "Leo…it was nice seeing ya again, man."

The two shook hands.

"Thanks for all your help," Leo said.

Shane arced his eyebrow as he looked to Eric. "So I have to ask, man…which one of you guys is, ya know, the strongest?"

Eric shook his head. "That's another can you don't want open, Hoody…"

* * *

The Megaship blasted through Hyperspace on its way back to Earth. The crew didn't notice a small shadow following the ship off its port side. A shadow with a familiar evil presence.

The vessel continued on course as the shadow followed, thirsty for revenge.

**The End**


End file.
